Trading Ceramics: The Findings from the Shipwrecks along the Coast of Vietnam
Dublin Core
Title
Trading Ceramics: The Findings from the Shipwrecks along the Coast of Vietnam
Description
The overland ‘Silk Road’ has served as the main conduit for the exchange of goods and culture between China,
Southeast Asia, and the West since the Han Dynasty. Its primary role has been diminished due to the establishment of
sea routes by the Tang Dynasty, thus Guangzhou (China) became one of the main gateways for maritime trade with
Southeast Asia and the West.
Southeast Asia is strategically situated at the passage of the maritime trade route, connecting the East and the West. It
has thus been known to be an area rich in precious metals, and luxury products such as pearls, rhino horn, tortoiseshells
and spices since ancient times. In addition, it is also used as an entrepôt complex on the maritime route between the
East and the West.
With a particularly favourable geographical situation, Vietnam's waters play a particularly important role in the
‘Maritime Silk Road’.
Over the past three decades, dozens of ancient shipwrecks have been discovered related to the ‘Maritime Silk Road’
in Vietnam's territorial waters. Those shipwrecks are evidence of the ceramics trade, which may have taken place for
centuries along the coasts of Vietnam.
This paper deals with the ceramic collections discovered on one of the shipwrecks in Vietnam's territorial waters, being
housed at the History Museum in Ho Chi Minh City. It is dated from the ninth to nineteenth centuries. It may
demonstrate the process of economic and cultural exchange from the East to the West at that time.
Southeast Asia, and the West since the Han Dynasty. Its primary role has been diminished due to the establishment of
sea routes by the Tang Dynasty, thus Guangzhou (China) became one of the main gateways for maritime trade with
Southeast Asia and the West.
Southeast Asia is strategically situated at the passage of the maritime trade route, connecting the East and the West. It
has thus been known to be an area rich in precious metals, and luxury products such as pearls, rhino horn, tortoiseshells
and spices since ancient times. In addition, it is also used as an entrepôt complex on the maritime route between the
East and the West.
With a particularly favourable geographical situation, Vietnam's waters play a particularly important role in the
‘Maritime Silk Road’.
Over the past three decades, dozens of ancient shipwrecks have been discovered related to the ‘Maritime Silk Road’
in Vietnam's territorial waters. Those shipwrecks are evidence of the ceramics trade, which may have taken place for
centuries along the coasts of Vietnam.
This paper deals with the ceramic collections discovered on one of the shipwrecks in Vietnam's territorial waters, being
housed at the History Museum in Ho Chi Minh City. It is dated from the ninth to nineteenth centuries. It may
demonstrate the process of economic and cultural exchange from the East to the West at that time.
Creator
Hoang Anh Tuan
Publisher
The Museum of Underwater Archaeology
Date
2023
Language
English
Bibliographic Citation
Anh Tuan, Hoang. 2023. “Trading Ceramics: The Findings from the Shipwrecks along the Coast of Vietnam.” Edited by Jennifer Craig, Jay Mok, T. Kurt Knoerl, and Atthasit Sukkham. In Proceedings of Fifth Asia Pacific Regional Conference on Underwater Cultural Heritage: Gwangju, The Republic of Korea, November 13-18 2023. The Museum of Underwater Archaeology. URL: https://apconf.omeka.net/exhibits/show/apconfproceedings/item/1936
Files
Citation
Hoang Anh Tuan, “Trading Ceramics: The Findings from the Shipwrecks along the Coast of Vietnam,” Asia Pacific Regional Conference on Underwater Cultural Heritage Proceedings, accessed September 16, 2026, https://apconf.omeka.net/items/show/1936.